Sept 28: Farewell Photo

Years ago, my parents gave me and each of my brothers a framed photo of themselves. The photos had been printed low-res with a bubble-jet printer and were pretty much a joke. Ever since, my brothers and I have made it a game to gift each other the same photos over and over again. We never know when/where one of these blasted photos is going to turn up, but the anticipation is always fun.

One time I found a photo in my handbag as I was reaching in for my purse to pay a taxi driver. My brother had planted it in there without me seeing him. (I only carry down-sized handbags now!) As I was on my way to the airport, I got the taxi driver to go via my friend's house. I gave the photo to her with instructions to plant it at my brother's workplace.... I thought nothing else of it until a couple of months later when I heard a scream drifting across the Nullarbor. Baby Bro had been showing a journalist through his workplace when the journo stopped taking publicity shots to ask "who's that a photo of?" Baby Bro had turned around to find a photo of his parents beaming back at him.

It's becoming a complex game of stealth, with the logistics of hiding the photos or planting them for a suprise find later on becoming increasingly convoluted.

My brother got a little lazy this time. I found his planted photo in my laptop bag before the taxi arrived, so was able to hand the photo back to him with lots of thanks.

Today I am thankful I share a similar sense of humour with my brothers.